Sanitation and Hygiene
-
Petro Mwamlima
-
26 December 2025
163
68
Legal Landscape Analysis of Faecal Sludge Management in Tanzania: A Technical Perspective with Lesson Learned from Arusha City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56542/w.jwempo.v2.i2.a12.2025
Download / view PDF
Keywords:
Faecal sludge management; Policy; Legal framework; Guidelines; Tanzania – Arusha City
Abstract
The race of attaining adequate sanitation services by 2030 remains a myth in Tanzania since the faecal sludge management systems lags far behind wastewater management systems. The case should have been vice-versa since massive amount of faecal sludge is generated in urban settings as compared to wastewater. There are several setbacks that lead to the cause but this study explored the relevance of available policies, acts, regulations, guidelines, rules and standards in attaining adequate faecal sludge management in urban settings, taking Arusha city as a reference point for discussion. The review of legally binding document and key informant interviews were the methods used for data collection, that were further analyzed using the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) technique. The findings revealed that only 13% of the urban population in Tanzania is covered by sewer, leaving 87% under onsite sanitation systems (mainly the pit latrines and septic tanks) that generates massive amount of faecal sludge dislodged to municipal treatment systems. However, the reviewed policies, acts, regulations, guidelines, rules and standards, gives priority to wastewater management and mostly referring faecal sludge in same category as wastewater. This misleads the entire concept as it promotes use of wastewater management interventions which are not adequate in handling the generated faecal sludge. To remedy this, all stakeholders engaged in faecal sludge management from all levels should be convened to review the legally binding documents. Hence, ensure that the faecal sludge management is exhaustively covered, and that the roles and responsibilities for respective stakeholders are well defined to simplify and fasten projects implementations.
